THE INTRODUCTION OF RUGBY LEAGUE IN KENYA

Defiance
Defiance is defined as the bold resistance to an opposing force or authority.

Another definition: readiness to contend or resist.

I like the second one more. In either case, you know it's not going to be easy but you take up your fight anyway. You block out the doubting thomases, the ones who are afraid of taking risks and the ones who you offended by going against what they thought was the 'obvious direction'. If you've done this you know exactly what I'm talking about.

I met a certain gentleman this past week and whenever we would talk, the word just kept coming to mind.

Defiance.

The way he spoke about what he's doing now(training people to speak in public), you can see he has a passion for it. After five minutes of telling me how his classes usually go, I wanted to sign up for one. I might need the skill one day when I receive my very big writing award:). He was to study medicine, he'd already gotten his admission letter and everything but on that first day of campus something just didn't feel right. He chose not to study medicine because that's not where his heart is. You can imagine the reaction he got from his family. Outrage, I say. They just couldn't understand. At some point I wondered if he had sat any one from his family and told them like he did me about what he does now. Maybe there wouldn't be as much resistance.

But sometimes the people closest to us don't understand why we don't go the 'obvious' way. It takes a bit of time for them to get on board. It took a while for my mum to come around to the whole writing thing. Defiance has its benefits. You stick with something and you fight for it with everything in you and soon, the people you had to resist become your biggest fans.

I'd love if the world was full of defiant people; defiant in the sense that we follow our dreams instead of doing what's expected of us. So piss a few people off. Get a few people wondering about your sanity.

Go out there and be defiant.

STRENGTH AND HONOUR[Rugby Kenya League motto]

Invictus

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.


In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.


Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.


It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

William Ernest Henley.

RUGBY LEAGUE TILL I DIE

Rugby League vs Rugby Union Kenya is the new stage

Friends Nor Lovers
Star crossed we may seem
Forever to traverse this realm
My path crossing yours
Even without effort from ourselves
Try as we might to stop it
With open cheating and flirting
Fights clear for all to see
That seem to hurt no one
Many years it had been
And our parting was really forced
But now that is done
It's time to have some fun
Greater heights we must climb
And more people must see
Just why it's hard to tell
Why we are neither friends nor lovers!

with lofty ideas and ideals they want to make professional, this game I LOVE. Rugby Kenya League Ltd is the new Canaan, in Kenyan Sports.

ATLAST, RUGBY LEAGUE

The face of rugby in Kenya is set to change, with the falling into place of the plans, to start playing Rugby League in Kenya before the end of July.
Often cited as the toughest team sport in the world, the younger of the two codes of rugby, fittingly nicknamed 'The Greatest Game' is a game for 'THE ULTIMATE ATHLETE' with its fast pace, brute force, skilled execution and fun appeal, rugby wont be the same again.
The clock is ticking, the sports family in Kenya is about to get an awakening, like no other.

WHAT HAVE WE DONE IN 102 YEARS OF RUGBY

There is nothing to write home about in the years that rugby union has been around in Kenya, apart from increased popularity, there has been nothing else in terms of standards, development and investment, what can I say. The game is no longer about passion, but rather about pride and showmanship.This is what i found out after having a chat with one very charming woman over tea.
Let the union teach people in the rugby fraternity about the spirit, values and principles of the game and maybe then rugby in KENYA WILL PUT ON A SMILE.

CONGRATS

It is the final weekend of the season,and much has been said by me over the past months, before we resume next season my friends and I will change the face of rugby in Kenya, for it has reached a time when words do not help and so action is the only option. Hope the KRU elections will be free and fair. Today i am humbled as I stand up and pay tribute to those who have made it to the 'Murabwa's Awards'.
THE WINNERS
- KRU - for making it all possible, though I have issues with you.
-BEST CLUB - QUINS, though it pains me that you are, but who can say you did not show your superiority with each game.
-MEAN MACHINE - for fighting to the bitter end,that is what sportmanship is all about.
-NONDIES - MOST DISAPPOINTING CLUB, you have forgotten where you come from and you are two times lucky.
-BEST PLAYER KENYA CUP - NICK BARASA[quins], you are a beauty to watch at centre, dazzling runs, deft skills, hard tackles and raw power.
- BEST PLAYER ESS- KEN MOSETI [ homeboyz], you are a person your team can always rely on.
-THE FANS - you make it all worth it.

Lets meet next season.

LONG DOES NOT MEAN FOREVER

Am informed that my grammar needs to be worked on, and thus i will burn the midnight oil to ensure that i improve.
For the longest of time we have praised our prowess in the 7's and proudly worn the National team jersey and thronged the stands during Safaricom sevens us it is now known, as we moved from being giant killers to Giants, a sense of arrogance crept in, the team and union officials were afraid to change the squad since it seemed to be performing and this led to the most experienced side in the IRB sevens circuit to become complacent as they knew their places in the team, was assured.
I did not have the pleasure of watching the matches but the results i have seen seem to indicate that we lost all our group games.
'' long does not mean forever.'' we have for a long time been living in a bubble and finally it busted on our faces, the lads at the union if they have any irk of passion for the game left, must be asking themselves, why? oh why? Am no guru or legend, just a stupid,weak and non-achieving rugby fan, but who lives, eats , and breaths rugby. So i might be wrong but this is my two cent worth, on the plight of 7's rugby in Kenya.
Gentlemen, a lot has been said about what ails rugby in Kenya by me or others out there, so to day I WILL NOT BOTHER YOU WITH A LIST FOR I UNDERSTAND YOU ARE VERY BUSY MEN. I will just state that which I think is the root cause of the problem. In this age and time of the technological revolution, instant millionaires,crash courses,fast foods, instant messaging and social networking sites , PATIENCE as a virtue has lost its allure and gotten thrown out of the window, to give way for instant gratification.
The success of the sevens team in the last decade, I have always attributed purely to the talent of the players and not at the coaching staff, clubs initiative or structures in place.
''Talent can only take you this far but not any further.'' as my high school teacher used to tell us back home in western. The player's talent has reached optimum and the only way forward, is for the clubs and the union to put up development and monitoring structures at the grassroots, to ensure the tapping of talent at an early stage and more importantly, the monitoring of the player's development in terms of international standards of progress, a change of coaching staff which i think has done a great job though their time is up will be the final pieces to complete the puzzle, together with a health dose of patience.
ALL THE BEST IN THE USA, CARRY OUR FLAG HIGH AS ALWAYS. SO LONG